Keith Urban On The One Thing That's Changed The Way He Makes Music

For Keith Urban's new album, "Ripcord," the country singer enlisted a host of fun collaborators and tried out a few tricks for a fresh, but familiar sound.

Urban is no stranger to experimenting with various musical styles, but he attributes some of his openness to new sounds and songs to technology. The 48-year-old spoke to The Huffington Post about the album and professed his love for Shazam, a music identification service. Urban admits he's no stranger to pulling out his phone and Shazaming anywhere -- whether it's at dinner or spin class.

"I’m the guy standing on the table at a restaurant trying to get my phone near the speakers because I want to Shazam this song," Urban said, laughing. "I Shazam all the time. I actually think for me, Shazam singularly has changed the way I make music."

The country crooner explained that tagging a range of songs from various genres, backgrounds and styles has helped influence his sound and take it in a different direction (something he's mentioned in past interviews). It's even led him to collaborate with some unexpected artists, like he did with Pitbull for his funky hit, "Sun Don't Let Me Down."

"I was listening to Globalization, which is Pitbull’s station on XM, and so I kept hearing his voice on certain songs," Urban told The Huffington Post. "And I was like, ‘Man, I’ve always loved his voice and I also love his style.' 'Cause it’s that great mix, it’s Miami, but it’s Cuban, slightly tongue-in-cheek, really sexy, really cool."

The result? A fun country-pop crossover that's sure to rule the charts this summer: